Abdullah al-Misri
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Abdullah al-Misri (b. late 18th century – d. early 19th century) was an Arab-Malay writer. He witnessed first hand the consequences of the Dutch East India Company going bankrupt in 1799; broad changes occurred such as when its possessions were taken over by the Dutch Crown, resulting in massive political change. The Dutch enterprise in Indonesia changed from a mercantile enterprise into a colonial state.[1]
Born in Palembang, Sumatra, his family were originally from Kedah. His ancestors were from Ottoman-ruled Egypt which meant he was different from most creoles who were of Hadrami descent. According to the Tuhfat al-Nafis, he was close to the creole Hadramis, especially the al-kadris and rulers of Pontianak.[2] In the early 19th century he was at a time in Besuki, East Java. His cousin Shaykh Abdurrahman, was the maternal grandfather of Usman bin Yahya, an important Islamic scholar of Indonesia.[1]
